Last Will
by Spunky0ne
Summary: When Renji makes a horrid sacrifice to save Byakuya, his nakama does their best to make sure that he comes home alive...yaoi, mpreg...Renji/Byakuya, Ichigo/Tetsuya
1. Fading Blossom

**Last Will**

**By Spunky0ne**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Prologue: Fading Blossom**

The shinigami came awake into a familiar nightmare. He tried to move, but found his arms and legs had been heavily bound and his powers sealed away. He wasn't sure how many days or weeks or months he had remained that way, tightly bound, blindfolded and at the mercy of the one who had done this to him, but he was aware that the spirit centers through which his power used to flow had begun to flicker ominously beneath the seal. There was little left in his body that wasn't trying desperately to keep him alive. But that evil, relentless being kept returning, night after night, to drain his life away, little by little...slowly and horridly painfully.

There had been a time when he had held out hope of escaping...when that familiar voice had spoken to him often in his dreams, promising that he would come. He couldn't remember the man's name anymore, or his face, but he remembered that gruff, warm voice.

Tears came to his eyes, remembering. He hadn't the will anymore to stop them, and surrendered easily.

"Shh, sleep one last time," a smooth, wicked, male voice whispered in the heavily restrained shinigami's ear, as cold fingers brushed his tears away, "When I wake to feed upon you again, it will be the end. You have endured a long time, shinigami. But then, you were a captain once, weren't you? Until the day you crossed my path. How proud you were, how beautiful. You are little more than a shell now. I shall have to find another. But, be proud. You have truly shown your strength. I shall miss you."

The voice paused for a moment, and the shinigami knew he must be sensing the air around them. He tried to extend his own limited senses and caught a breath of something that felt like red fire.

"What is that?" the low, hissing voice snarled angrily.

The warm, strong presence intensified, and its closeness seeped into the nearly dead shinigami's body, strengthening him. He panted harshly, straining against his bonds and sucking in a hard breath. He released it again in a hard, desperate scream, remembering the man's name only as he released it.

"_RENJI!_"

The room shook ominously and a deafening screech approached. The shinigami's tormentor left him then, without a word or a hint of where he meant to go. In the next moment, the wall near the restrained man exploded inward, littering small bits all over the bed where he laid and making him both laugh and cry at the same time.

"Renji!" he repeated more weakly.

A relieved sob escaped him as warm, rough hands touched him, and the bonds on his body shattered. He was pulled close to that other and held on tightly, with clenched hands.

"H-how did you...find me?" he managed in a broken, hoarse whisper.

"C'mon," that longed for voice said softly, "You know how I found you. You're in my heart...right in here. I promised you every day and every night your were gone, that I was gonna find you. You never had to doubt. I'm just sorry it took so long. But, we'll talk about all that when we get home, okay?"

"I can't walk, Renji. I can barely breathe."

"Then, you relax and keep on breathing, okay? I'm gonna get you out of here. We'll be home in no time, and we can fix everything. Just stay with me. Stay with me, Byakuya."

"I am with you," the shinigami whispered, something of his senses returning as he heard the man call him that name, "I am with you, Renji."

The other man's hands removed the blindfold, and Byakuya squinted, trying to see the man's face. He could see that Renji was smiling, and that there were tears on his face. And he kept talking as he lifted the noble out of the bed and carried him towards an opened doorway into a dark, cool corridor.

They were nearly there when icy laughter rose up behind them.

"Ah, you are the one I sensed, trying to break into this place before," hissed a thin, white clad man with violet eyes and a cruel, sinister smirk, "You missed him, did you? You were almost too late. I almost emptied him. He was sweet, very sweet. Marvelously fulfilling."

"Shut up, you quincy bastard!" Renji cried, backing towards the open doorway.

"Thank you for opening the way," the quincy went on, "Now, I have a world full of shinigamis to suck dry!"

"It's not gonna happen!" Renji shouted, suddenly shoving Byakuya through the doorway.

Pain exploded through the noble's shocked body as he landed on the hard ground and rolled to a stop. He caught a flash image of Renji, hastily sealing the entrance, and screamed the redhead's name, trying desperately to crawl back to him as the doorway slammed shut between them, leaving him alone in the cold passage.

"Renji!" he screamed, clawing at the place where the opening had been, "_RENJI!_"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 1: Return Out of the Abyss**

"Are you sure that this is the right direction?" Ichigo asked in an unnerved tone, as he looked around the dark, empty corridor, "I don't see anything at all here."

"I know what I sensed before," Tetsuya assured the Shiba heir, "My cousin's reiatsu registered as being somewhere near here, in the precipice world. I would know the feel of it anywhere, and at any distance."

"But, Byakuya," Ichigo said, shaking his head and frowning, "He's been missing without a trace for over a month. And no one even knows where he was when it happened. His reiatsu just...disappeared."

"And Renji hasn't checked in since he went looking for him again last night," said Rukia, "I'm really worried!"

"Yeah," agreed Ichigo, "Me too."

"Well, I know what I sensed," Tetsuya insisted, sliding down off of his black stallion's back and looking more closely at the pathway, "Byakuya was in this area. There is no doubt about it."

"But," added Rukia, from where she still sat on the horse's back, "the precipice world is a strange place. If my brother and Renji disappeared in here, who knows what could have happened to them."

"Yes," Tetsuya agreed, "The passage of time in here is sometimes disrupted, and if they became trapped in a pocket dimension, then it is possible that time was altered around them. But, we will find them."

"We won't stop looking until we do," Rukia said firmly.

"Right," Ichigo said, nodding, and moving slightly away from the other two to examine the ground.

They moved slowly along the corridor, checking every inch and listening to the echoing of their footsteps, and sometimes the deep, distant throb of the cleaner. Cold air teased their skin and the darkness of the place encouraged the uncomfortable chill inside them to make them shiver. They had just turned a sharp corner, when they heard the heavy whine of the cleaner moving closer, then stopped walking as they all at once spotted a dark, collapsed form on the ground, ahead of them.

Rukia gasped, catching sight of the familiar pale face of her brother and jumping down off of Arashi's back to flash step to the fallen noble's side.

"Byakuya!" she cried, barely cognizant of the other two young men moving to join her, and the rising sound of the cleaner as it came closer.

Tetsuya leaned over his cousin, as Ichigo stood behind the younger noble's shoulder, looking back, behind them.

"We're going to have to get out of here," Ichigo warned him, "That thing is coming in our direction.

"Note the coordinates quickly!" Tetsuya told Rukia, placing his palms on Byakuya's chest and face and quickly giving him a short, steadying infusion of reiatsu.

"Is he...?" Rukia began.

"He is alive!" Tetsuya exclaimed, "But he is in some kind of shock. I feel almost no reiatsu emanating from him. We need to get him to Urahara's shop immediately! Ichigo, please help me."

The two young men lifted Byakuya's limp body and carefully delivered him to Rukia, who had climbed back onto Arashi's strong back. Rukia positioned her brother in front of her, leaning back against her as she held on and nudged the stallion with her heels. Arashi saw the cleaner appear in the distance, and quickened his step as the two young men fell in with him, and they all turned in the direction of Urahara's shop.

"When we get back, I'll go and get Orihime," Ichigo told them, "He looks pretty bad. Did either of you see any sign of Renji?"

"I did not," Tetsuya said worriedly, "But it was hard to attend to looking, because the cleaner was coming towards us."

"Don't worry," said Rukia, "I noted where we were."

Tetsuya bit his lip, stopping short of reminding her of the difficulty of what they would have to do, even knowing the proper coordinates. All of them knew of the difficulty in anticipating any entry into that dark, dangerous place that separated the two worlds. But, they pressed on, focusing on the sudden reappearance of the missing clan leader, and feeling a sense of relief that, at least one of their missing nakama had been found alive.

They flash stepped down into the training area in Urahara's shop, and found the shopkeeper waiting for them.

"Kisuke!" Rukia called out, "We found my brother, but he's hurt badly."

"I'm going for Orihime," Ichigo said, turning to leave.

"She's already here," Kisuke said, stopping him, "Tessai and I felt the swell in your guys' reiatsu and we knew something was up. We didn't feel Byakuya's reiatsu or Renji's, so we knew that if you had found someone, he might need a healer."

"Good thinking," Ichigo said, nodding gratefully as Kisuke and Tessai lifted the unconscious captain down from the stallion's back.

"Don't worry," Kisuke said, noting Tetsuya and Rukia's troubled expressions, "We'll get him inside and take good care of him.

He gave Ichigo a more guarded look.

"You didn't find any sign of Renji?"

"No," Ichigo said, his eyes taking on a sad look, "But, we're going to go back and look some more. We just couldn't stay, because of Byakuya's condition and because the cleaner was passing through the corridor."

"Let's hope that it doesn't destroy what we might need to help us find Renji."

_If Renji is still alive for us to be found,_ he noted inwardly, _The fact that Byakuya was alone and unconscious does not bode well._

XXXXXXXXXX

"He's hurt badly, isn't he?" Rukia said worriedly, as she watched Orihime's power gently pulse over Byakuya's resting body.

"I'm afraid so," the human girl confirmed sadly.

"Can you sense what was done to him?" Tetsuya asked, gazing down at his cousin's pained expression.

"I'm not sure," Orihime said, furrowing her brow and focusing, "His reiatsu was drained, but there is more to it than that."

"Yeah, I sensed that when he arrived here," Kisuke added, "It looks to me like he was drained to the brink, not once, but repeatedly, over an extended period of time. Whoever did this was a deranged, maniacal freak. He did it in the most painful way he could, making sure that Byakuya didn't die quickly, but remained alive and in considerable pain."

"Damn!" Ichigo hissed angrily, his brown eyes flaring.

"He also showed signs of repeated physical assaults. There were wounds on his wrists and ankles, meaning that he was tied down. And Tessai found other sores on his body, indicating that he spent the bulk of the time tied up."

"That _anyone_ would treat a soul with such blatant disrespect!" seethed Tetsuya, his hand curling reflexively around the hilt of his blue steel zanpakuto.

"Especially him," Ichigo added, scowling in disgust, "If he was going to kill Byakuya, he should have just done it quickly. To torture him like that..."

"I don't know if it _was_ just torture," Kisuke said, looking at the noble more closely as Orihime's power flowed through him, "There's something strange about the draining process. I'm looking at a number of references...hollows, humans, shinigamis. This kind of power that was used to drain him could have been any of those."

Orihime's focused frown deepened suddenly, and she motioned for Kisuke to move closer.

"What is it?" the shopkeeper asked, following her gaze.

"His spirit centers. There is something not right about them."

She paused in her healing, allowing Kisuke to lean forward and place his hands on the noble's bared chest and abdomen.

"Every shinigami and hollow that wields power, does so through the use of these centers within the body that control the flow of reiatsu. These centers expand and constrict. As a shinigami or hollow becomes more powerful, they are able to open wider to suit the flow of power. Byakuya's spirit centers are well developed. Him being a noble and captain level, his have to expand widely to accommodate the large amount of reiatsu he wields. But, it looks like this enemy's power forced the spirit centers to the breaking point. It would have felt like fire in Captain Kuchiki's veins, and repeatedly done over time, it eroded the centers, themselves, causing them to begin to deteriorate and shut down. To protect his body from the rampant flow of power, his mind would have tried to shut them down...increasing pressure on them until the very cells began to break down. If it had been any longer, I would have called his case 'hopeless.' But, there is still some little bit of elasticity in the cells in that area. If I put him in suspension, so that no reiatsu touches his centers for a time, then I can save his ability to flow reiatsu. He will have to brought along slowly, but I believe he can be healed."

"Can't Orihime just reject the damage?" Rukia asked.

"Normally, the answer would be 'yes.'" Kisuke replied, pulling away from the noble and standing, "However, even Orihime's power is reiatsu based. We had to use some to keep him from dying. But now, I will have to put him in a special chamber, where he will be completely without reiatsu and fully suspended to allow his spirit centers to fully heal themselves."

"But, Kisuke," Ichigo said in a low, worried tone," If you suspend him, how are we going to know what happened to him? And where Renji is now?"

Kisuke let out his breath in a resigned sigh.

"I am sorry. We can't get _anything_ out of him until his spirit centers are healed. Every moment he spends with reiatsu touching him furthers the deterioration process. I'm going to start the process to put him under, now."

"But Renji!" Rukia objected, fighting tears.

"It's okay, Rukia," Ichigo assured her, "We have the coordinates in the precipice world where we found Byakuya."

"But we don't know if he crawled there from somewhere else, or which doorway he used!"

"That is true," Tetsuya said solemnly, "But that just means that we have a lot of places to look for him. We will find him. I promise we will! We will not stop looking until we do."

Rukia sniffed softly, gazing down at her unconscious brother and all too aware of what could be happening to her lifelong friend.

"Y-you're right," she said, clenching her hands and forcing herself to stand, "Kisuke, please take good care of my brother. I know that you will do your best to restore him."

Kisuke nodded, then motioned to Tessai, who approached Byakuya and lifted the noble off of the bed.

"Put him in the chamber and lower the reiatsu gradually. He's been healed, but he is still too weak for a sudden evacuation of reiatsu."

"I understand," Tessai said, turning, and flash stepping away.

"Now," said Kisuke, meeting the eyes of Byakuya's nakama, "You are going to have to be very careful. In addition to the dangers of the precipice world, and the dangers of the things that inhabit the pocket dimensions, remember that you are dealing with a creature of some kind that was able to overcome and capably restrain a powerful captain. And its powers are frightening. I don't like what I see happening with Captain Kuchiki. You want to find Renji and steer clear of whatever attacked his captain. This may be something that Central 46 ordered locked away. You know that when a beast is too dangerous to keep in the regular prisons, they lock them away in the pocket dimensions of the precipice world. The doorways will let you in, but you may have trouble getting out again. And you have to make very, very sure...that whatever was locked inside, doesn't come out with you!"

"We will," Ichigo resolved, his brown eyes glittering, "We're going to find Renji and we're going to bring him home alive!"


	2. Return of the Mongrel

**Chapter 2: Return of the Mongrel**

Renji's mind spun at considering just how quickly the hunter had become the hunted. Although still not being a model of reiatsu control, he was usually good enough to mask his reiatsu so that he could evade pursuit if things got dicey.

"They're fucking _dicey_ now, aren't they?" he panted, turning in among a thick growth of trees and continuing to run, "What I wouldn't give right now for one of captain's super duper reiatsu-suppressing cages! Damn! I got so spoiled, being with him all of the time!"

He remembered, all too well, his earlier life in the Rukongai, where they had always had at least four kids guarding their camps. And fighting was really just a way for the stronger ones to give the weaker time to run away. Fighters in Inuzuri tended to die young. Only a lucky few, like Rukia and him, lived and managed to get out of the slums. Those few were usually rare ones like Renji, who later rose through the ranks of the Gotei 13 and became officers.

Renji swerved around a boulder and dropped down onto an even more thickly forested slope. A small alcove suddenly offered itself, and he fell into it, curling his body to make it as small as possible, then engaging in, not a reiatsu masking technique, but in one that consisted of reducing reiatsu flow to a pinpoint. It was an unusual approach and more something akin to what little kids did when frightened of things that went **bump** in the night than what warriors used in the field. But, Renji decided, if it would get that damned quincy off his back, then it was well worth abandoning his pride to be able to evade his pursuer long enough so that he could rest, and maybe find some source of food. He laughed inwardly, thinking of how Byakuya would likely respond to that, then he felt a sad twinge inside, remembering the state his captain had been in upon his arrival in the pocket dimension.

_His eye took in everything in a sweeping glance, the too pale and dreadfully thin, raggedly dressed body, filthy, sweat-drenched skin and tangled raven hair. His dark eyes were covered and he was bound to the bed he laid in. And when he screamed Renji's name, the redhead felt the desperation all of the way down to his toes._

"Fuck!" Renji hissed softly, swallowing hard and trying to erase the image from his mind, "What did that monster do to you?"

He hoped fervently that he wouldn't have to learn that by suffering the same consequences.

"Shinigami," said the quincy's dead calm voice from an uncomfortably close position, "I will admit that you are at least as good at hiding yourself as that other was. You must be captain level, although you do not wear a haori. And he knew you. So, you came looking for him...alone. That would suggest that you were close to him. You do not look, at the surface, like you come from the same family. You were a friend, then, a comrade? _Renji_, he said? You are Renji Abarai, then?"

_Shit...he's heard of me?_

"You shouldn't be surprised that I know your name. His majesty, before that shinigami loving bastard, Ichigo, killed him, made sure that all of us more powerful quincies had detailed files on all of the captains and their vice captains. You were Byakuya Kuchiki's vice captain, no?"

_I still am, you fucking freak!_

"So, you are captain level, but you still serve as his second in command. Quite odd, really."

_Yeah? Well, Captain didn't think so much of me doing that either. He pushed me hard to promote and I dug my feet in and wouldn't budge, especially once we..._

He realized suddenly that his mind had become dangerously distracted. And he didn't want to think about the night he had spent in Byakuya's arms, that first night after coming home from the quincy war.

_He said, afterward, that it had been a mistake for him to tease me, when he had nothing to offer me._

And despite his dire situation and his will to force the past away, Renji's mind couldn't help but relive their last moments together.

_"We belong together, Captain," he said, sitting up and wrapping his arms around the lovely, pale body that had so recently been wrapped around his, "You know that. I can see that you do."_

_"And if not for the losses suffered by the noble families in the war...if not for the need to preserve what is left of my family's power...Renji, I wasn't lying when I told you I love you. I was devastated that I couldn't protect you and Rukia before. And before the call for eligible nobles to be married to preserve our powers and bloodlines, we could have, at least argued for the right to be together. But as things stand, there is no choice. I cannot, on the one hand, ask for my own brethren to give up their right to choose who to love, and not be willing to make that sacrifice, myself."_

_"Then, why did you do this? Why did you sleep with me?" he asked, his brown eyes filling with tears, "If you knew that you were going to have to break my heart and leave me, then why?"_

_"Wouldn't your heart have already been broken if I had taken a wife, but had never made love to you and confessed what I felt for you, Renji?"_

_He had to admit that it was the truth._

_"Y-yeah...yeah, I guess."_

_Byakuya captured his face in both hands._

_"My heart would have been broken anyway too," the noble confessed, "This way...our hearts can break together, and we can comfort each other until the time comes that we must let go."_

_He didn't mean to start crying. He knew how Byakuya refused to shed tears, and saw them as a sign of weakness. But he was sure that Byakuya was the love of his life. And the love of his life was only going to be his for a short time longer, and then he would be taken away...still in Renji's presence, but not allowed to show any signs of affection. It wasn't Byakuya's fault and Renji couldn't argue that the clans were being unreasonable. They were fighting for survival, after losing many powerful family members and being far reduced in number. That was the cost of the war._

_He felt warm lips touch his face, brushing away his tears as Byakuya laid him down again. His caresses this time didn't feel sexual, but were meant to comfort._

_"I am sorry."_

_"Don't be. It's not your fault, and even if it kills me, I am not going to blame you."_

_"Renji..."_

_He met the noble's objection with a storm of passionate kisses, letting his hands roam over every inch of that pretty, petal soft skin as Byakuya gave in to him and made love to him again. They laid together quietly afterward, looking out the window, up at the bright, full moon._

_"There was an old story in the archives," Byakuya told him, "that many thousands of years ago, one of my ancestors fell in love with one of the 'simple folk.' In those times, it was unheard of, but this man, Hajime, laid eyes on the commoner, Tama, only once...and he felt that he could never love any other. Hajime was a man of great wealth, of power and privilege. And he loved his family. But such was his love for the commoner, Tama, that he bade his family a tearful goodbye and he left them."_

_"What? Were you thinking of doing the same...before the war, I mean?" Renji asked, rubbing his eyes._

_"Well," said Byakuya, managing a fleeting smile, "I wouldn't have had to give up everything. But...given the same choice as Hajime, I might have."_

_"Really?" Renji asked, feeling strangely better, knowing Byakuya loved him that much, "But that became impossible, considering what happened in the war."_

_"Yes."_

_"So, what happened with Hajime?"_

_"The leader of the family hunted the two down and confronted Hajime. It is written that he used the crest that is within every member of every noble house, to reclaim his power. He revoked Hajime's rights to even wear the Kuchiki name, and he had Hajime's name stricken from our records."_

_"Damn, that's harsh," Renji mused, shaking his head._

_Hajime remained kneeling on the ground, after the clan leader left. He shed his first tears, being held in Tama's arms and Tama asked him if he regretted following his heart. Even then, even having lost everything an being made outcast, Hajime said that he loved Tama, and his wicked, rebellious heart wouldn't let him do any different. Maybe, he told Tama, that was why he had been chosen to suffer so much...because he couldn't be obedient."_

_"Tell me that this story doesn't end badly," Renji pleaded._

_Byakuya fed him a long, open-mouthed kiss, then smiled at him, giving the redhead a powerful tickle inside._

_"Tama stood, then, and Hajime looked up at him. And as he watched, Tama's body began to glow with a great, golden light. He revealed, then, to Hajime, that he was of the spirit dimension, and that he had placed himself in Hajime's path to test him. Hajime crumbled and bowed at the transcendent's feet, begging his forgiveness for disgracing his family and failing to serve the soul king as he should have. But Tama smiled down at him, and helped him to his feet, then kissed him and said something that made Hajime go instantly breathless. 'My love' he said, taking Hajime's face in his hands, 'You did not fail your family and you did not fail my test. You were willing to give up everything for me. And it did not matter that I was a poor man. My soul called to yours and yours answered. Do you know why?' Hajime was still too stunned to answer. 'Your soul answered mine, because I am your king. And you are the very first soul that my hands made. The first soul created by the new king is always named his consort. But a consort, to be wise, must leave the spirit dimension and live among the ones he will help to rule. The king' he said 'is the hand that rules the worlds, but the consort is the heart.' Hajime was shocked all over again, and he looked at Tama in confusion. 'But we are both male,' he said, 'How will I have your children?' The held him close and gave him more kisses, then made him a promise. 'As you have shown yourself to be of great heart, I will bless you with children, Hajime.' And ever after, it was believed that if a noble heart broke, for the sake of love, that same miracle would happen."_

_"That's really beautiful," Renji sighed, nuzzling closer to the noble, "But...a guy getting pregnant?"_

_"It would be better than losing each other," Byakuya said wistfully._

_"Okay, but if the soul king lets that happen for us," the redhead said, smirking, "You get to carry the bundle of trouble, okay?"_

_"Me?" Byakuya said, looking surprised, "But I am the clan head. I couldn't..."_

_The two exchanged glances, and found themselves laughing, despite the pain of what was happening._

_"I love you, Byakuya," Renji told him, climbing on top of the noble and spreading his legs to receive him again, "I'm not going to stop loving you, just because we can't be together."_

"Shit, I have to stop this," Renji whispered, sniffing softly and rubbing his eyes, "Thinking that way could get me killed here. I don't think any miracles of any kind are coming my way. If I want to get out of here alive, I have to make it happen!"

"Renji Abarai," the quincy's voice said solemnly, "You will not be able to escape. Like your captain, you will be captured. I will take you back and lay you in the bed where I kept him. And day by day, night by night, you will suffer the same awful fate that he did."

_I want so badly to kill that bastard now, for what he did to Byakuya. But I need to rest and eat. I need more power to overcome him!_

"We can play this game for a while, but eventually, I will grow too hungry and I will stop playing with you. Run, for now, if you like. But I will have you in the end. I will drain the life out of your veins and leave you an empty shell, like he was when you took him back."

_I wonder if he was found. Kami help him if the cleaner came along. He was so weak. But...I can't think about that now. I have to keep myself alive and free. I have to kill that thing, and then I have to find a way to break out of here and go home!_

XXXXXXXXXX

Ichigo, Tetsuya, Rukia and Orihime looked up as Kisuke entered the room, their eyes questioning.

"I have a little more information," Kisuke said quietly, "But not everything I have to say is good."

"Let's hear the good stuff first," Ichigo said, his lips tightening.

"The good stuff," Kisuke repeated, "The positive...Byakuya's not gonna die. I managed to save his spirit centers, and they are recovering well. I will be able to remove him from the containment unit by tomorrow, and once he is out, then we can let him regain consciousness."

"And the unpleasant news?" Tetsuya queried.

"He'll be powerless for a while. I can set him up with a mod soul that will give him enough power to return to the Seireitei. But it will be a while before he regains his powers. And there's no way to know whether or not he'll be at the same level as he was. This really is a big unknown."

"Well, I know my brother," Rukia said firmly, "I know that he will recover. They didn't think he was going to live before, but he did. And he will live and come back stronger than ever!"

"I agree," said Tetsuya, "Byakuya is the strongest person I know. He will be all right. And more than that, he will be determined to go after Renji. He and Renji were very close."

"But Kisuke said that he'll be powerless," mused Ichigo, "How is he going to go after Renji in that kind of condition?"

"I don't know," said Tetsuya, "But I know him well enough to know that nothing and no one will stop him from trying."

"We could keep him unconscious," suggested Kisuke.

"But we need to know what he knows about where Renji might be," Rukia objected.

"Right," sighed the shopkeeper, "I guess we'll just have to keep a close eye on him and make sure that he doesn't leave here until he's stronger."

"And we're gonna have to move on finding Renji as soon as he can give us a clue where to look. We went to the coordinates where we found Byakuya, but we didn't find the pocket dimension he came out of yet."

"If he even came out of one of them," Kisuke said, frowning, "But, changing the subject, there's one more thing that you should know."

"What's that?" asked Ichigo, exchanging glances with the others.

"I've isolated the reiatsu that I found on Byakuya's body. The thing that made such a mess of him was part quincy."

He watched the strong reactions of the gathered group.

"Now, it's not mentioned much outside the military, but a bunch of the more dangerous quincies were rounded up after the war. There was...disagreement in Central 46 about what to do with them. The ones that we could prove had taken shinigami lives were executed...although that bastard, Mayuri Kurotsuchi managed to purloin a few for his experiments. When he was done with them, the ones that were still alive, he placed in secured pocket dimensions. He did this without authorization, and when Central 46 found out, they were the ones who ordered Byakuya to investigate. My guess is that he entered one of the pocket dimensions and ran into one of the quincies that survived Kurotsuchi's experiments. I didn't mention that before, because there was nothing in the information that would have been helpful. But it's important that you know now, because if you meet up with this thing, you need to have a way to fight him."

"You said that it was part quincy," said Tetsuya, "What is the other part?"

Kisuke met their eyes darkly.

"I was just getting to that," he told them in a low, worried voice, "The other part...was _demon_.


	3. Orders

**Chapter 3: Orders**

Kisuke let the transparent top of the isolation chamber slide back and looked down into Byakuya's calm, but curious gray eyes.

"How are you feeling, Captain Kuchiki? Do you know where you are?"

Byakuya's eyes blinked slowly, and he sat up and looked around the room.

"We are in your laboratory," Byakuya responded quietly, "although, I will be honest and tell you that I have no idea how I came to be here."

"Okay," said the shopkeeper, running a probe around his body and nodding approvingly at the readings, "Well, you were out cold when Tetsuya and the others found you."

"Renji?" the noble said, a tension entering his voice and the rise in his reiatsu setting off the instruments around him.

"Hey, take it easy," Kisuke chided him, "You were in pretty awful shape when we found you. but I gather you know that."

"What?" Byakuya asked, frowning.

He went silent, furrowing his brow and shaking his head worriedly.

"Are you okay? What's going on?" Kisuke asked quickly.

"It is...just that...I cannot remember some things," Byakuya confessed.

"All right, that's okay...even expected," said the shopkeeper, "Whoever got hold of you nearly killed you. And we aren't talking about in any kind of fair fight. This thing sucked the life outta you! You were unconscious way longer than I anticipated. And I had you in my healing pool off and on for nearly a week. You are still weak as a kitten. When I started, you had to be in that chamber all of the time to keep the reiatsu around you from overwhelming your body. Now, your spirit centers are beginning to be able to handle normal reiatsu flow, but it will be some time before you can you even put up a shikai. Don't do anything. No kido. No zanpakuto. You need to confine yourself to basic flash steps and flowing small amounts of reiatsu through your body. Any more than that, and you are going to end up permanently powerless. Understand?"

"Renji!" Byakuya hissed, grabbing the front of Kisuke's top, "Where is Renji?"

Kisuke lowered his eyes and let out a soft breath.

"He went into the precipice world to find you," the shopkeeper explained, "He went in...then the others found you collapsed in there, and no sign of Renji."

Byakuya felt an icy chill pass through his weakened body.

"I have to find him!" he said, trying to climb out of the bed.

"Whoa, hold on! Wait a sec!" Kisuke objected, placing a restrictive hand on his chest.

Their eyes locked forcefully, both men knowing how fast Kisuke could induce unconsciousness.

"Look, I know you want to save Renji. But the way things are, we have a lot to do before you go back into the precipice world. We need to know what got hold of you...if Renji found you, and how you escaped. We need to have an idea of how to fight whatever you faced in there."

"Were you able to find any indicative reiatsu on my body?" Byakuya asked.

"Yes. An what I found was disturbing."

"What was it?"

Kisuke let out a concerned breath.

"I heard it through the grapevine that you were sent into the precipice world to investigate rumors of improper procedures used on some purloined quincies by one Captain Kurotsuchi. Don't worry about confirming that for me. It's pretty damned clear from what I found that you reached one of his 'experiments.' This bastard was one of the Sternritters, but his body had been destroyed. He was put into soul form, then soul bound to a demon...a powerful one."

"A demon?" Byakuya repeated, looking alarmed, "And this demon...?"

"This combination quincy and demon appears to have sexually assaulted you on numerous occasions, impregnating your body with a reiatsu that weakened your ability to think clearly, making you unable to fight him effectively. Over a period of three to four weeks while you were in his possession, he drained you repeatedly, giving you less than ample time to regenerate your reiatsu, so that slowly and probably very painfully, over time, your spirit centers began to degrade from the pressure."

Byakuya's face paled at the news, but he took a calming breath, steeling himself and nodded for the shopkeeper to continue.

"I was able to help your spirit centers begin to recover..."

"I am grateful to you for that."

"You should be," Kisuke said, shaking his head, "They were this far from shot. You were almost dead when you were found."

"Making it highly unlikely that I freed myself...meaning that Renji must have reached me," Byakuya concluded, going a shade paler.

"That was my conclusion as well," Kisuke affirmed, "I think that he found you and he forced you out into the corridor, then the kids found you. Unfortunately, due to the changeable nature of the precipice world and the arrival of the cleaner, they haven't been able to find which pocket dimension you emerged from. they're still looking, but without some kind of information from you, we're gonna have one hell of a time figuring out where to begin looking."

"And if Renji was captured by that thing..."

"And if it didn't decide to just kill him," Kisuke added, "Then, Renji's got less than a month before he's gonna be in the same shape you were. You were out for a week. That puts us in a time crunch."

"But I remember nothing," Byakuya said numbly, "And if I do not remember something soon, then Renji is...Renji will be..."

"Hey," said Kisuke, "We're a long way from giving up, here. But, we have to get you back on your feet. And there's a problem...one I didn't tell the kids about...and one that you probably don't want the powers that be learning about."

"I don't know if I want to hear this," Byakuya said, closing his eyes for a moment.

"A demon who drains a soul to emptiness can do one of two things," Kisuke went on, "He can simply devour the soul, or he can leave the soul alive after draining it...and it will turn."

Byakuya's face went white and he placed a hand on his abdomen, closing his eyes and breathing slowly.

"And I...?"

"You were affected, but you hadn't begun to turn. But...there was...a structure that formed in your body. With some research, I found that it was the beginning of a feeding core that all demons have."

"Oh, my kami..."

"It's okay. It's not gonna change you. I sealed it for now. But...when this is over and you have time for the procedure and the very long recovery after, I can remove it. The procedure is complicated and it isn't without risk...not to mention, it's pretty damned illegal. But it will eliminate the demon reiatsu from your body and return you to being just yourself."

"You are...sure?" Byakuya asked, his gaze intent on the space in front of him, "Because if you have any doubt...any at all, then you have to...before I...you must..."

"You're not going to turn into one of them."

"I would rather die."

"I would rather you die too," Kisuke agreed, "So...I did put a backup in. I figured you would want it. If that feeding core awakens and you start to turn, the seal I placed on it will activate and kill you instantly."

Byakuya stared at him speechlessly for a moment.

"I do not suppose there was any other way."

"No. Not that I could think of. Now, I placed the seal and a covering reiatsu over it so that neither our basic healers nor the goons at the twelfth should be able to detect it. Because you know that the standing order is to exterminate anyone in your state. I don't happen to think we need to be quite that hasty. I think you've got a pretty good chance of making it outta this alive. But you're going to have to be careful. If Central 46 gets wind of this or that thing catches you again, you're pretty much screwed. I don't want that to happen."

"I am glad to hear that," Byakuya said dryly, "Well...I think we have said all that we need to say for now. If you will tell me where Tetsuya is, I would like to have Arashi carry us into the precipice world."

"I don't know if that's advisable, given..."

"I understand," Byakuya said, interrupting him, "But you must understand, Renji may not have much time. I will be careful. I will stay with Tetsuya and Arashi. We will set escape forms that will bring us back to the shop immediately if we run into any trouble. But please, we must go and look for him..."

Kisuke frowned deeply, not liking the suggestion, but unable to argue with the noble's logic. He sighed heavily and nodded.

"Fine. I'll go and get Tetsuya."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Come on you fucking creep," Renji whispered, crouching behind a cluster of thick brush, "Come and see the present I left you."

He made a sound of discomfort and rubbed his belly gently, trying to sooth the area.

_Damn...I hope I'm not getting sick. No fucking way I can do that now. I have to keep my wits about me...have to stay on my toes._

But doing so without proper food and sleep was becoming taxing. He had managed with catnaps and his knowledge of plants developed as a kid in the Rukongai, to rest and eat enough to straggle along. but the quincy was getting impatient.

"Hopefully, he'll fuck up and end up dying in one of those traps before he can catch up with me."

He heard a sudden explosion and the ground rocked. But rather than celebrate right away, Renji crept stealthily in the direction in which he had heard the ruckus. He saw smoke billowing up a short distance away, and heard something thrashing about. But he would have, he thought, to get closer to be sure of what had set off his trap.

On silent feet, he moved forward, pausing at intervals to scan the area around him with his sharp eyes. He dared not employ any bit of power, as the beast was highly attuned to it...and had revealed in one of his monologues once that it was Byakuya's powerful reiatsu that, in the end, could not be completely hidden from him and caused the noble to become vulnerable to him.

_Fucking nightmare..._

_I hate that Byakuya fell into his hands for a second. the thought of him suffering like he did for near a month...!_

_Damn..._

_I'm gonna kill this thing, Captain. I'll kill him, if it's the last thing I do!_

_For you._

_I love you, Byakuya._

"I must congratulate you, Renji Abarai," the quincy's solemn voice said from somewhere nearby, "You have managed to remain free for longer than your captain. You should be proud. But...how much longer will you struggle and suffer? Come to me. I will drain you, but I will do so more carefully. I will not kill you."

_Oh, like that's so fucking much better, you goddamned prick! You are not touching me. I'll die before I let you put your foul hands on my body. And I will make you pay for everything you did to Byakuya! Just keep running around near my traps and..."_

Renji dove to the side as a trap exploded too close to him. He grunted as he landed roughly on the ground and felt sharp pain in his ribs. Grabbing his side, he jumped back into a crouch, biting down on his tongue to keep himself from crying out as the movement tormented his cracked ribs.

_Oh gods, please no!_

But he sensed that his luck had run out and gave up trying to run. He called his zanpakuto to his hand and threw himself recklessly into bankai, launching the skeletal snake at point blank range into the face of his enemy.

He ran, then, aimlessly...seeking only to get out of sight, so that he could address the damage to his body. He heard the impact of his bankai as it struck the quincy head on, and the ground shook so hard that he was thrown into a growth of prickly bushes.

"Fuck!" he hissed, turning his head to see what had happened.

His breath left him as the quincy's body seemed to morph into something horrible, black and hideous, with deadly eyes that rotated and found him almost immediately.

"Holy hell!" he gasped, abandoning everything but his fastest flash step.

_But Byakuya was faster and he couldn't get away._

He quivered inside as he heard his bankai break apart and fall before the quincy's horrid power. But he ran hard and fast, putting everything into escaping into the trees and brush, angling around his own traps, as the creature behind him stalked him, setting off the traps on purpose, one by one.

_Damn! _

_Why did I ever think that I could fight that thing?_

_But Byakuya's freed. They'll have found him and he'll be okay._

_Yeah, he'll be okay._

_If I could have one wish before this bastard catches and kills me, I would want it to be that Byakuya would be okay. If he's okay, it's all right that I won't make it home. It's okay that I'm gonna be killed by this thing. I'll laugh in the fucker's face that I got the best of him by getting Byakuya free. I'll keep laughing until my last breath._

_And with that...I'll say that I love you, Byakuya._

_And if you got out and got home safe, it'll be my last will...that you should be happy._

_If you're home and safe and happy, then it's all worthwhile._

_If you're happy, then..._

Renji heard a brutally swift step that could only be the quincy hirenkyaku, and something struck the back of his head, sending him crashing to the ground and spinning into the darkness.

_Be happy, Byakuya._

_I love you._

_Goodbye..._

XXXXXXXXXX

"Ah, I'm glad you're back," Kisuke said as Rukia, Tetsuya, Ichigo, Chad, Uryuu and Orihime stepped out of the senkaimon and back into the training grounds.

The group made sounds of surprise and relief at the sight of Byakuya who, albeit pale and shaky looking, was standing at the shopkeeper's side.

"As you can see, Captain Kuchiki is on his feet, though just barely.

"But you can tell us...!" Ichigo began.

"I am afraid that I cannot tell you what happened...or where I was," Byakuya explained regretfully, "I have no memory of it."

"But," Kisuke added, "Byakuya has been wherever Renji disappeared. So, it stands to reason that if you take him to those coordinates, he might be able to pick up on where that coded doorway is. Tetsuya, I'm putting his safety in your hands. Byakuya cannot use any powers yet. He will need you and Arashi to look out for him while you search."

"I wonder if it's really a good idea to take him along," said Chad.

"But without my brother, we aren't having any luck finding where Renji dsiappeared," argued Rukia, "As much as I don't want to see my brother get hurt, I understand why he has to do this."

"Thank you, Rukia," Byakuya said solemnly.

"Go on, then," Kisuke urged them, "Go and find our buddy. He's probably got that thing hog tied and is just waiting for you guys to show up, ne?"

"Right," Ichigo said half-heartedly, "Well, come on!"

Byakuya turned towards Arashi, but was stopped from reaching him as flash steps sounded all around the group and stealth force filled the room. Soi fon appeared in front of Kisuke as the shopkeeper moved to defend the powerless noble.

"Stop right there!" the second division captain warned him, "We sensed Captain Kuchiki's presence here and have been ordered to return him to the Seireitei for a full medical evaluation and debriefing. Anyone who interferes with us will be detained as well!"

"Wait, Captain Soi fon!" cried Rukia, "You can't do this! Renji is trapped in the precipice world and we have to...!"

"We will decide what needs to be done as soon as we have Captain Kuchiki fully examined."

"Who is going to do the examining?" asked Kisuke.

"Central 46 has assigned Captain Kurotsuchi to handle the examination.

"No way!" yelled Ichigo, "That butcher? No way he's laying hands on Byakuya! I'll die before I'll let you take him!"

"I must also protest," Tetsuya said, stepping between Soi fon and Byakuya, "There is no way that you are going to take my cousin and our clan leader out of my sight for a moment, nor will you detain him against his will!"

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you to surrender Captain Kuchiki to us now," said Captain Commander Shunsui Kyoraku's voice from behind Soi fon, "I promise you that we will not harm Captain Kuchiki in any way. But, we must obey the order of Central 46. Come, Captain Kuchiki. I will make sure that Captain Kurotsuchi is carefully observed while he conducts your exam."

"I still don't trust that bastard!" fumed Ichigo.

"But I do trust my commanding officer," Byakuya said quietly, "I will give my consent to go with you, but I want to search the precipice world for Renji's reiatsu. Certainly, you can understand that I must make every effort to find my vice captain. Any other captain would do the same."

More flash steps sounded and Byakuya was cut off from the rest of the group.

"Hey!" cried Ichigo, "What the hell are you doing? You can't just drag him off like that!"

Tetsuya flash stepped towards his cousin, but crashed headlong into a heavy shield that snapped into place around the clan leader and the ones who held him.

"Byakuya!" Tetsuya cried, beating his fists against the shield and ignoring the heavy jolts that it sent through his panicked body.

"Stop them!" screamed Rukia, "Please, Captain Commander, don't do this!"

"Silence, all of you!" Soi fon commanded, "One more word and all of you will be arrested!"

The others froze, watching as Byakuya was fitted with a leather collar and led away.

"They treating him like a prisoner!" Uryuu exclaimed, "And they're going to let that bastard Kurotsuchi get his hands on him."

"And," Kisuke said balefully as Soi fon and the stealth force disappeared again, "You can bet that since Kurotsuchi is probably the one who created whatever had Byakuya...he's gonna make sure that something happens to keep Byakuya quiet..._dead silent_, if you know what I mean."

"But, if Central 46 was investigating Kurotsuchi and they sent Captain Kuchiki on that mission," Chad queried, "then, why is he being allowed to perform the evaluation?"

"My guess is that Central 46 doesn't give a shit that Kurotsuchi made those guys hurt. They're just covering their asses, I guess. It's typical Central 46 bullshit," Kisuke sighed in disgust.

Ichigo stepped forward and helped Tetsuya to his feet, calling Orihime over to address the dark burns on his hands from where he beat them against the shield.

"You okay?" he asked softly, studying the noble's tormented eyes.

"I'll be okay," Tetsuya assured him, "It's my cousin I am worried about."

"Yeah, me too," Ichigo agreed, "C'mon. Let's get you healed."

"And then," said Kisuke, "We're going to start planning how to get Captain Kuchiki free."


	4. Secrets Inside

**Chapter 4: Secrets Inside**

Renji woke to the discovery that he had been dragged into the damaged makeshift cottage that Byakuya had been imprisoned in and carefully bound to the bed. He quivered inwardly at the dried blood that stained the filthy bedding, and the traces of it that clearly indicated Byakuya had tried numerous times, but failed to escape. He could feel the lingering remains of the noble's pained reiatsu, and caught flickers of dark emotion that he must have been feeling before his rescue.

"So, you are awake," the quincy said, eyeing him closely, "I have some questions for you, Renji Abarai."

Renji noticed suddenly that although he had been bound, he hadn't been hurt or drained at all.

_What's going on? He said, plain as day that his plan was to drain me. What is he waiting for?_

"You look surprised," the quincy stated matter-of-factly, "You wonder why I have not commenced draining you, ne?"

"Fuck you!" the redhead spat at him, "Quincy bastard, just go ahead and kill me, if that's what you're gonna do!"

"Renji...Renji," the quincy said, reprovingly, "I told you I am not going to kill you. I would gain nothing from that. I would hardly even get one good meal that way. I have something else in mind."

"What do you mean?" Renji demanded furiously, "What are you planning, you demented freak?"

"Such rudeness. Really, Renji, you must learn to control yourself. But do not worry, you have time for that...all the time in the world, actually."

_Why th'fuck is he being so nice to me? What is this asshole up to?_

"But first," the quincy went on, "Introductions. I am Armand Schaeffer, Sternritter, though not given a letter. Letters, as you know, were confined to the ones our leader chose for the invasion. He did not find my power useful for attack in general, but believed that I would be better suited to interrogation and punishment."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Renji said in a disgusted tone, "Sucking people's reiatsu dry? You're like a fucking vampire from the stories in the living world."

Schaeffer's smile sent a chill down Renji's spine.

"Well, tales of the living world have to come form somewhere, ne?"

"You mean you...?"

"Yes, I inspired the people of the living world that way. I gave them that terror that makes their skin crawl, just to hear of it...the one they fear even though they try not to believe it exists. I am a quincy vampire."

"Damned creep!" Renji hissed.

"Oh, but that is only the beginning of what I am, Renji," he said, moving closer, "Do you know what happened to the Sternritters who were gathered up and taken away to Central 46 after the war?"

"Yeah," huffed the redhead, "They were interrogated for information, then if it was proven that they had taken shinigami lives, they were executed."

"And if they were not?"

"I don't know," Renji confessed, "I am..."

"You are a vice captain, high in the rankings, and you were not told of the fates of the ones captured, but not convicted? Don't you find that odd?"

"I find you disgusting!" Renji snapped, struggling against the bonds that held him.

Schaeffer only laughed at him.

"Stop it. You're not going to get free, so just give up and listen, Renji."

"Fuck you, you perverted son of a bitch!" Renji seethed, "I don't want to hear _anything_ you have to say!"

He sucked in a pained breath as Schaeffer suddenly appeared at his side and grabbed him roughly by the hair, then glared into his eyes menacingly.

"You might not care to hear, but I am going to tell you anyway, little vice captain! The ones that were not found guilty seemed to disappear, and many assumed they had been released. A false story circulated about us being banished into a prison colony. The truth is that many of us were, instead, transferred without permission to Mayuri Kurotsuchi's hands, where he conducted horrid experiments on us. I wonder if you can stand to hear what that man did to me."

"Probably not," Renji said, starting to look sick, "But I'll bet you're gonna tell me anyway, right?"

"He said that it was a lovely irony," Armand went on, ignoring Renji for the moment, "He said, what better end for a creature who drains souls than to be drained by a much stronger version of itself."

"What?" Renji hissed softly, in spite of himself.

"He locked me in with a spiritual demon."

"Those things really exist?" the redhead breathed shakenly.

"Why don't you tell me?" Armand said, his eyes glowing a chilling red.

"What the hell?" Renji said, leaning away as the quincy moved closer, "Get away from me!"

"That wicked, perverted bastard let the demon drain me, then stopped it and watched as our powers merged and I passed over. I hated him for what he did, but even worse, for locking me in here and leaving me starving and alone. I could not loose my wrath on him, but when your captain blundered into my path, I took my revenge...not in haste. It wouldn't have been painful enough, but slowly and methodically."

"Stop it!" Renji cried, turning his head away, "I don't want to hear anymore. You're lying! You...!"

"Every word of it is true," Schaeffer went on, "I think you know it is, Renji. You know Mayuri Kurotsuchi...what kind of monster he is!"

"But my captain wasn't!" Renji roared, straining against his bonds until his skin began to sting, "You stupid bastard! He was here to gain evidence of what Kurotsuchi was doing! He was making sure that creep would PAY for what he did. And you...!"

"Ah...perhaps my anger was misguided. But Byakuya was a captain."

"Don't speak about my captain in the past tense, you creep! He's out of here and on his way home! You'll never touch him again, you hear?"

"Captain Kuchiki is dead."

"What?" Renji gasped, going pale at the words.

"Your captain died the moment I took him. It was a slow, painful death. I drained him repeatedly, and I fouled that lovely, noble body of his often, just to dirty it."

"SHUT UP!" Renji screamed, "STOP IT! I got him away from you!"

"You removed the shell of the man you remember. But...that is not all, Renji."

"What?" Renji panted, groaning as his midsection twinged painfully, "What are you talking about? WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY CAPTAIN?"

Schaeffer moved closer, placing his lips next to Renji's ear.

"I made him a demon too."

Renji's eyes rounded and his screams became unintelligible. He tore at his bonds until the still smirking quincy calmly induced unconsciousness.

"A slight exaggeration, perhaps, but it inflicted the right amount of pain, I think. But, as you have overextended yourself and I do not want you to lose the child you carry, I will let you sleep, Renji. Sweet dreams. We can talk later about my plans for you."

XXXXXXXXXX

"So," said Shunsui, looking down at the unconscious captain strapped to the examination table in front of him, "What have you found, so far? Anything that might tell us where Captain Kuchiki has been?"

"What I have to tell you," Kurotsuchi sneered in a condescending tone, "is that I do not appreciate you barging in here and interrupting my experiments!"

"Well, sorry for disturbing you of course," said the captain commander with a hint of sarcasm, "but if you will remember, this isn't an experiment, but a Central 46 ordered examination of a Gotei captain, "So, if you will just stop complaining and tell me what you've found...?"

The twelfth division captain gave a snarling growl of discontent and continued his examination.

"He is a complete and utter disaster," the scientist concluded, "You should consider him permanently disabled. If he even has all of his senses, which I doubt because of the way he was babbling before..."

"He wasn't babbling," Shunsui corrected him calmly, "He was wanting to go after his vice captain. Renji apparently saved him from something, from what I gather. It's only natural that he would want to return the favor."

"This man is in no condition to do any rescuing!" exclaimed Kurotsuchi, "His spirit centers have been nearly destroyed. His body is woefully depleted of reiatsu and only barely able to manage. He is being kept supported by a mod soul...likely an illegal one crafted by that idiot in Karakura Town. I shall take it out at once!"

He squawked indignantly as Shunsui's hand inhibited him.

"I don't think so," Shunsui said firmly, "He wouldn't be able to tolerate the reiatsu around him. Illegal method or not, it is sustaining his life, so we'd better just leave it alone. I'll make a mental note to have a talk with Kisuke Urahara about his chosen methods, of course."

"A TALK? You'll have a TALK with him? You should hang him up by his throat and execute the man painfully for HALF of the things he has done!"

"R-right," Shunsui said, smirking, "Unfortunately, the other half of his contributions are things like helping Ichigo Kurosaki save Soul Society from Aizen and providing a cure for the stolen bankai problem that you couldn't solve."

"Why you impudent little...!"

"Hey, I think you've told me enough. Why don't you just untie Captain Kuchiki now, and I will have him taken to the healing center. He looks like he could use some rest now."

"He'll rest just fine here!" Kurotsuchi insisted, "And I haven't finished all of my...!"

"That's fine," Shunsui said, waving him off and shattering the bindings on Byakuya.

"You bastard, stop that!"

Shunsui touched Byakuya's forehead and watched the sixth division captain's eyes open and blink slowly.

"Captain Kuchiki, I'll give you a second to gather yourself, "Then, I think we should get you to the healing center."

"I have healers at home," Byakuya said, frowning.

"Yeah, well," Shunsui said, scratching the back of his neck, "We have orders that you should be monitored at the healing center and a report made to Central 46."

"I see," Byakuya said solemnly, "Well then, it seems that I have no choice."

He accepted Shunsui's hand and leaned heavily against the captain commander as he gained his feet.

"Don't worry, Captain Kuchiki," Shunsui said bracingly, "I am sure you'll be out of there and back home resting by morning, okay? Just relax now. We'll use my personal senkaimon to shorten the trip."

"As you wish," Byakuya said sullenly.

He opened the senkaimon, then led Byakuya into it and closed the door. Byakuya flinched and stared as the other man conjured an enclosing sphere around them.

"What is this, Head Captain?" the noble asked, frowning, "What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure that we are not monitored. Being in the precipice world, there's only one person who could eavesdrop, and being in this sphere will inhibit even him from hearing what we say."

"And what makes you think that I have any more to say than what I said before you turned me over to that mad scientist to be _examined_?"

"Calm down now, okay?" Shunsui said, raising his hands, "You misunderstand. I didn't think that you were holding out on us. You said that there are gaps in your memory. The examination only supported that such a thing is natural, after enduring what you did. I didn't bring us here for that."

"Then, why are we here?" Byakuya asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't particularly like how Central 46 is handling this," the captain commander confessed, "And I'm not the only one. So...when we arrive at the healing center, a group of _healers_ will greet us. Go with them...and make sure that you are not captured again, okay?"

Byakuya paused, his eyes softening as they looked back at Shunsui.

"Hey," the other man said, reading his expression, "I'm not going to let the son of one of my best friends get railroaded like that. I want you to go back to Karakura Town and find your vice captain. when you do, I'll smooth things over for you, and have you turned over to your clan."

"Thank you," Byakuya said gratefully, relaxing as the tension drained from his body.

Shunsui smiled and retracted the privacy sphere, then helped Byakuya to the exit point and the two emerged into the fourth division.

"Ah," said Isane Kotetsu, noting their arrival, "I was told to expect you, Captain Commander. I have a detachment of guards and healers here to see Captain Kuchiki to the receiving ward. But before they take you with them, there is something that I have to tell you."

"Yes?" Shunsui said, looking at her curiously.

"It's about Vice Captain Abarai. You see, we gave him a routine physical before he left on his last mission."

"And?"

"Sir, Renji Abarai is pregnant."

"What?"

Byakuya's eyes widened and his mind flashed back instantly.

_"And ever after, it was believed that if a noble heart broke, for the sake of love, that same miracle would happen."_

"Renji..." he whispered.

"But...a guy having a baby?" the head captain mused.

"It happens in the noble families," Isane explained, "although it is very rare. There are only a few recorded cases."

"But you said _noble_," Byakuya repeated, Renji is not noble."

"I know," said Isane, "But his other parent is. Captain Kuchiki, the baby Renji is carrying is yours."

Byakuya's eyes widened and he felt a soft clutch in his abdomen.

"You should go on now," said Isane.

Byakuya held his breath as he was handed off to the group of four healers wearing safety masks and two hooded guards. They led him down several hallways, then shoved him into an empty treatment room and locked the door. One of them opened a senkaimon, then they removed their disguises, revealing Rukia, Ichigo, Tetsuya, Uryuu, Chad and Orihime.

"Hey," said Ichigo as Tetsuya completed the opening of the senkaimon and they entered together, "Are you all right?"

"I am fine," Byakuya assured him, "thanks to the head captain, and to all of you. How did you get here so quickly and without Captain Kurotsuchi detecting your passage here? He monitors the precipice world at all times."

"We're all using special mod souls," Tetsuya explained, "And as soon as you arrived here and Captain Kurotsuchi was distracted with your examination, the one in you altered its output, so that he wouldn't be able to sense you crossing back over. You are safe now, and we are all being moved to a safe house while we search for Renji."

"That is good," Byakuya said, looking relieved, "We have to find Renji quickly, I don't know what that thing will do to him. And besides, he is carrying my child. I can't let anything happen to either of them!"


	5. The Lure

**Chapter 5: The Lure**

Renji woke to flashes of aches and pains, and a feeling of intense nausea. His stomach lurched and he tried to get up, but found he was still tied down, and could only turn enough to empty his stomach's contents into the filthy trashcan beside the bed. He flinched and turned away as the quincy, Armand's cold hand brushed a wet washcloth over his face, cleaning away the stray dribbles of sickness, then brushed several tumbled strands of his hair out of his eyes.

"What did you do to me, you fucking CREEP?" Renji shouted, reeling as another wave of nausea passed over him.

He surrendered to another, stronger bout of sickness and began to cough and gag uncontrollably. Suddenly, some of the bindings were shattered, and a strong arm around him lifted him slightly, so that he could better expel his sickness. He heaved repeatedly until he teetered at the edges of consciousness, too weak to fight the quincy's hold on him. Armand held him in a slightly raised position and brought his lips close to Renji's ear again.

"Do you wonder why you are so sick?" he asked silkenly, "Are you afraid of what it might be?"

"Sh-shut up!" Renji panted, "I'm not afraid of a bastard like you. I don't give a shit what you do to me. I'll never cooperate!"

He shivered at the sound of the quincy's wicked laugh.

"You don't need to cooperate for me to obtain exactly what I want, Renji."

"F-fuck you!" Renji spat, struggling to kick his way free of the remaining bindings, but only managing to deplete the rest of his energy.

He sagged against the quincy again, trying to ignore the words and forcing his aching mind to think of something, anything that would make the circumstances he was in disappear.

"Try to remain calm," the quincy advised him, "Your reiatsu is very unstable. I was only able to modestly affect it with mine. You really need infusions from the father of the child you are carrying."

"The...? The...what th'fuck'd you say?" Renji panted, "The...father?"

"Ah, I see. So, you were not aware you were with child?" Armand asked, arching an eyebrow.

"What the hell do you think? I'm a guy! So, unless you did something freaky to my body, there's no way I'm knocked up! What did you do to me? Tell me, you damned bastard!"

"Temper, temper now, Renji," Armand said reprovingly, "I assure you, I did nothing to your body except heal and try to stabilize you. Unfortunately, because you were impregnated, your body needs infusions from the one who fathered the child."

"I told you, you're not touching me, you fucking rapist! Get away from me!"

Armand laughed heartily.

"I assure you, I haven't raped you...not yet. I would have, of course. I have a hunger for powerful, lovely specimens like you and your captain. He was very soft, very sweet when helpless in my arms. You, I think, would be a more wild, saucy type. And don't we find we crave both...?"

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY CAPTAIN LIKE THAT! I'LL DESTROY YOU FOR LAYING HANDS ON HIM!" Renji raged, his reiatsu sparking until it nearly caught fire.

He groaned and grabbed his midsection as another swell of illness descended on him, making him bend over the edge of the bed and heave until he was nearly senseless. Armand took hold of him and eased him onto his side, rubbing his back and stomach and clucking disapprovingly in his ear.

"Renji, Renji, you really must try to control yourself. You are going to turn yourself and that sweet little baby in your belly into hollows. We don't want that, do we?"

"Wh-what th'fuck would you care?" Renji managed, shuddering under the quincy's touch, "You don't really care about me or this baby. I'm surprised you haven't started draining me yet."

The cryptic smirk on Armand's face sent a shiver of warning down the redhead's spine. He bit at his lips, their words replaying in his head until his stomach clenched at the realization.

_So, I really am pregnant? Kami, it's like Byakuya said when he was telling me about that old myth. Our hearts were breaking because we couldn't be together. Then...if...if Armand didn't rape me, then that means that...that Byakuya fathered the baby! And if he said that I needed infusions from the father, then he plans to capture Byakuya and bring him back here. I have to stop that from happening! I can't let him bring Captain back here again. Byakuya's not going to make it if this guy gets his hands on him again!_

He forced himself not to think about Armand's declaration about making the noble into a demon.

_Whatever he's done to Byakuya, we'll fix it. It'll be all right. I have to stay calm. I have to stay calm and take care of the...the...our baby._

_Byakuya and I are having a baby..._

_I wonder if he would have been happy._

The thought made helpless tears leak onto his face, and he shuddered as Armand brushed them away and the quincy's low, oddly sympathetic voice sounded in his ear.

"Not to worry, Renji," he breathed soothingly, "Byakuya will find you. I will make sure that he does, very soon!"

XXXXXXXXXX

You guys should get on your way," Kisuke said, looking around anxiously, "The onmitsukido will probably be showing up here soon, looking for Captain Kuchiki. It's best you're all not here when they get here. Tetsuya, you stay close to your cousin. I've marked the coordinates for your search, so you'll be able to find the area, but you'll have to look carefully to find the doorway Captain Kuchiki came out of. Once you do, expect a fight when you go in. Whatever is in there held a captain hostage for a good, long time. It's nothing we want to play games with. Be careful."

"We will be," Ichigo promised.

"Orihime, keep close tabs on Captain Kuchiki's condition. You'll need to keep him stable. And...remember _what I told you about before_. I won't be there to handle things if they start to go awry, so be ready for anything."

"Will do!" Orihime said, nodding.

The group passed into the precipice world and paused, watching as the doorway closed behind them.

"Man," Ichigo said, shaking his head wryly, "This place always gives me the creeps. And that cleaner thing just loves to show up when I'm around. I hope it has better things to do today than to chase us. I really don't feel like having to dodge that damned thing right now while we're trying to search for Byakuya."

"Unfortunately, we also have to _dodge_ any shinigami patrols that come through here," said Uryuu.

"Looks like we'll all be on our toes," observed Chad, "Orihime, stay close to me."

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, "You get lost in here, it may be the last thing you ever do."

He glanced at Byakuya, who returned his glance with a measure of agreement.

"By the way," Ichigo said warmly, "I'm really glad that Renji was able to save you, Byakuya. He was beside himself, searching for you."

"He shouldn't have come into that world," the noble said softly, his eyes touched with guilt, "He shouldn't have come after me."

"But he made a vow to protect you," Tetsuya reminded him.

"Yes, Brother," Rukia agreed, "Renji was driven to find you. He wasn't going to be held back."

"And now, his life and our child's are at risk."

"They'll be okay," Ichigo said, reassuringly, "We'll find Renji and we'll bring him and your baby home safely."

"If that thing hasn't..." the clan leader managed, his voice breaking.

"Watashi no itoko," Tetsuya said bracingly, "Think of how long you were kept alive by whatever had you."

"I do not want to think about that," Byakuya said, shuddering, "Even not remembering everything, what I do remember is horrible. For Renji to endure any measure of that..."

"It will be all right, Byakuya," Ichigo promised him, "We are going to save them."

"Yes," the noble said softly, "I believe that."

The group reached the charted coordinates, then split into teams to explore several junctions in the area. Chad and Uryuu followed a crooked path to the northwest, while Ichigo and Rukia explored an offshoot to the east. Orihime remained at Byakuya's side as he and Tetsuya explored the main corridor. The clan leader pored over the walls to the left and right, searching desperately for some sign of the explosion that he vaguely remembered from before.

"You said that the cleaner came through the area, so most of the signs will have been swept away," the clan leader noted, "but there has to be something traceable that we can see."

The three pored over the area several times, then moved forward and began another search pattern. They were nearly ready to move on, when Orihime made a sound of surprise and called the two men over to where she knelt near the floor of the corridor.

"It's really small," she said, pointing out the area, "but if you look closely, there is some scoring, kind of under this bulge.

"There are faint signs of burning as well," Tetsuya said, looking more closely.

"And here," Byakuya said, tracing a path with his hands, "This is the seam of the sealed door. There are slight signs of damage, here and there. This is it! This must be where I came through!"

"Did you find something?" Ichigo called out from where he and Rukia were returning from their search.

"We found it!" Orihime said excitedly, "It's right here!"

"Are you sure?" Rukia asked excitedly, moving closer and watching hopefully as Byakuya quickly pointed out the signs.

Excitement and hope flooded the group as Chad and Uryuu rejoined them and they lit the area around the door.

"I've placed several markers, deep in the contours of the wall," Tetsuya said, "We aren't going to lose sight of it, even if the cleaner comes through and we are forced away."

"We will place two sentries within the precipice world," Byakuya said, indicating Chad and Uryuu, "to ensure our pathway back. The rest of us will enter through this doorway, using special cloaks Kisuke Urahara provided to cover our movements. I am sure that the one within will sense the breaching of the doorway, but he will not know how many are with me if he cannot see us."

"Are you sure Orihime needs to come inside with you?" asked Uryuu, "I'm not sure it's a good idea to risk her going in there."

"It is a risk for her," Byakuya agreed, locking eyes meaningfully with the human girl for a moment, "but Renji may well be badly injured and we will want to stabilize him before we attempt to return."

"Don't worry," Ichigo said firmly, "We're gonna take care of her. We won't let anything happen to her."

The group went quiet for several minutes, watching as Tetsuya made several strategic scores in the seam around the door, then set kido charges and froze them in place with small sections of ice that he conjured.

"I could just give it a good Getsugatenshou," Ichigo offered, grinning at his friend, "It would be faster."

"Ah, but these are lower impact charges with dampers, so as to not overstate our arrival," Tetsuya explained, "The one within may still sense us, but we will have less of a shock upon detonation, and there will be less smoke and debris so that we can enter swiftly and move to conceal ourselves within that world. And the doorway will quickly repair itself so that whatever that thing is, it cannot escape into the precipice world."

"Right..."

"All right," Tetsuya said, standing, "The charges are set. Step back a bit while I detonate them, but be prepared to pass through as soon as there is an opening."

Rukia opened her pack and removed the cloaks, then handed one to each of the team members before donning one, herself. The group waited as Tetsuya touched the charges, one by one to set the sequence, then stepped back and activated them.

A low, deep boom sounded and the corridor rumbled as the charges fired in sequence, blasting a large, neat hole in the wall for them to pass through. The opening almost immediately began to repair itself, but the cloaked team dashed through, flash stepping into near darkness on the other side and coming down on the shore of a small lake.

"Quickly, follow me!" Tetsuya hissed, guiding them to a large section of brush, "Did you feel it? The one trapped in this pocket dimension sensed the explosion. We must conceal ourselves and make sure that he cannot track our movements."

"The cloaks should hide us from him," said Rukia, "but we still need to be careful."

Byakuya made a sudden, soft sound of surprise as the group moved into the brush.

"What is it?" Tetsuya asked quickly, "Are you all right, Cousin?"

"Yes. It is just that, being here has brought back something. I remember my captor's voice. It was a man...with dark hair. He wore white clothing..."

"A quincy?" Ichigo asked, his eyes widening.

"Yes," Byakuya confirmed, closing his eyes and breathing slowly, "He was a quincy...but that is not all. He had been experimented on and had become something even more powerful and hideous. I tried to conceal myself from him, but he was able to sense the reiatsu, any reiatsu I used. I couldn't even hide myself with a reiatsu cage."

"But the cloaks that Kisuke gave us are not reiatsu based," Tetsuya assured him, "They will hide us from the quincy's senses. We will still have to be very careful not to give ourselves away, but we have a better advantage in that he won't know our position, or how many of us have come."

"He is...cunning," Byakuya added, frowning as the memory of the man slowly returned, "Although I was trained to avoid detection and skilled in combat, he was able to find and easily overpower me. Whatever the twelfth division researchers did left him freakishly powerful and made him horridly dangerous, which is why they would have confined him here."

"Man, I so glad that Kisuke gave us these cloaks," Ichigo sighed, "We'd be sitting ducks otherwise."

"That is true," Byakuya agreed.

He would have said more, but at that moment, Tetsuya hissed a soft warning to be silent, then the group felt the approach of someone powerful. He looked to be a quincy of average height, but reiatsu radiated around him dangerously, warning them that there was a much more dastardly thing contained in that human body than merely a quincy. The man smiled and cast his glowing, red eyes about, seeking them.

"Ah, Byakuya, you have returned," the quincy said softly, "But then, that is to be expected. You are an honorable man. You would not leave your comrade...your longtime friend..._your lover_ in my hands, would you? No, not you. Yes, I know you are here for him. And I will tell you, Renji is alive. I have not harmed him. But...you will not be able to take him back from me. And...you will not be able to escape here. So, coming here was futile for you, but fortuitous for me, ne? In addition to you, you have brought me some number of offerings, haven't you? I will capture them, Byakuya. I will capture you and them, then you and Renji will watch as I devour them, one by one! But I am patient. I am returning to your vice captain now. Feel free to concoct what plan you will, but you are not going to win him back. You, and anyone you brought will only die here!"

The group held their breath as the quincy laughed wickedly, then disappeared in a step rivaling a flash step. Byakuya turned to the others, his eyes darkening.

"I think you all understand what we are up against, here. That is not just a quincy, but something akin to a demon. And he knows I am here. We need to reach Renji quickly and prepare him for extraction, which means that we need someone to go in closer."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo said, frowning, "What are you suggesting, Byakuya?"

"We need to distract his attention from the movements of our team. He already knows I am here, and of all of us, I am the one with no powers. Tetsuya, you are as adept at strategy as me and Ichigo, Rukia and you have considerable powers. If we give him the false impression that he is succeeding in what he plans to do, then he will let his guard down and the team can move in. Remember, the goal is extraction. We do not have to brace him if it is avoidable. We only need to take Renji and reseal this dimension as we leave it."

"But how do you plan to distract him?" Rukia asked worriedly, "It sounds dangerous."

"Strategically," Byakuya explained, "we cannot expect to achieve our goals without a sacrifice."

"A sacrifice!" Ichigo objected, "You mean, one of us...?"

"He expects me to be here," Byakuya said softly, "And as I have no powers, we will be giving nothing to the enemy."

"Byakuya, no!" Rukia objected instantly, "Brother, you are still recovering!"

"Rukia's right," Ichigo said, shaking his head, "We aren't going to risk you like that."

"We need to get someone to Renji," the clan leader insisted, "So, I will give him a chase and let him capture me. Do not worry. He is not planning to kill Renji or me."

"What?" the others exclaimed softly.

"You heard him. He said that he would kill you in front of us," Byakuya surmised, "He has another plan for Renji and me. I plan to make use of that. I will allow him to chase and capture me, and I will prepare Renji for his extraction. When you move in, we will be ready."

"This is crazy," Ichigo mused, scowling.

"Well, can any of you think of a better way?" Byakuya asked, "We need to distract him and get him to lower his guard. This will accomplish both of those things. If any of you has a better idea, I am willing to consider it, otherwise, we are going ahead with this."

The others went quiet, considering.

"I don't like the idea of letting that man touch you again," Tetsuya said unhappily, "but from a strategic standpoint, I cannot argue with your logic."

"Neither can I," Rukia agreed.

"It sounds desperate," Orihime observed, "but Captain Kuchiki wouldn't suggest it if it wasn't necessary."

"All right," Ichigo said grimly, "I guess we have to do this. So, what happens next?"

"I will slip off a ways, then remove my cloak and hide it. I will conceal myself for as long as I can, but he will, at some point, sense me and come after me. I will let him chase me, then I will allow him to capture me. While he is busy with me, you will search for Renji's location and position yourselves to rescue him. If you can avoid taking him on directly, do so. And if you have to engage him, strike and kill him quickly. Delay, and he will overpower you. Get down, now. I am going."

The group watched in silence as Byakuya slipped away into the darkness, then they concealed themselves more deeply in the brush and waited.

"I don't like this," Ichigo huffed softly, "I hope Byakuya's right about it, but..."

"He is correct that there isn't much choice but to try to distract that man this way," Tetsuya sighed, "But I understand your frustration. We must be cautious now, and we must not allow ourselves to be captured. Whatever happens, we must not, under any circumstances fail them!"


End file.
